The Wall

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
The Wall is the highly accomplished, debut historical thriller from the gifted John Marks, a former journalist and Berlin bureau chief for US News and World Report. A provocative and intelligent roller-coaster ride, The Wall is as much a history lesson as it is gripping entertainment. Set in Eastern Europe in November, 1989, The Wall spins a complex and intriguing web of political intrigue, espionage, and deception during the cataclysmic moment in history when the Iron Curtain -- and Communism -- came crashing to the ground. Marks's first-hand experience and vivid characterizations catapult The Wall into a league of its own; it's a frighteningly plausible story set during an extremely precarious, unpredictable, and fascinating period in European history.

The Wall opens with a bang -- literally. Nester Cates, an African-American military captain, is called to a military stronghold named "the Box" just moments before one of its computer terminals mysteriously explodes. Cates is soon brought before his superior -- the hard-nosed, no-nonsense Major Coogan -- who wants to know what happened and, more specifically, why Cates had abandoned his own position to be there. To make things worse, an eerie and enigmatic "owl" (military slang for CIA official) named Carlton Styles begins to interrogate Cates, not about the explosion, but about his best friend and military counterpart, Stuart Glemnik, who has not been seen for several days. He also quizzes Cates on extremist Jiri Klek, one of the world's most wanted men who has been linked to terrorist activities in Munich, Lebanon, Beirut, and West Berlin. Rumors are circulating that Klek is currently in East Berlin and Styles, a victim of one of Klek's attacks, wants revenge.

Klek's rumored presence, the disappearance of Glemnik (who already has a shady reputation for his autonomous nature, unorthodox political opinions, and anarchic tendencies), and Cates's unexplained presence in the Box seconds before a top-secret terminal suddenly explodes make Styles extremely suspicious. Instead of placing Cates under arrest for treason, Styles decides to cut Cates "a break." Cates has 24 hours to locate Glemnik; if he fails to do so, he will be implicated as an accomplice to the evening's brutal attack. But finding Glemnik will be not be easy, especially because he, along with his communist West German girlfriend Uta, has defected to East Berlin.

The Wall follows numerous, well-drawn characters as they attempt to locate Stuart Glemnik and uncover the secret behind an elaborate conspiracy during the final days of Communism and the chaotic, early days of Democracy. One is Glemnik's brother Douglas, a down-on-his-luck but likable entomologist from Texas who's been visiting Stuart for the past several months. Douglas's life is in peril after Styles -- who has never mentally recovered from Klek's explosion -- becomes convinced that Douglas is the notorious terrorist. Another is Jodie Blum, a young and ambitious American journalist who, fascinated by Douglas's plight, accompanies him on his journey from Dresden, East Germany, to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest in a desperate struggle to locate Glemnik. With several others along for the ride, Jodie and Douglas run amuck through the Eastern block countries, not only ducking the nefarious men who are looking to bring them in, but also coping with the increasing violence that perestroika has spawned.

Among The Wall's most unique and valuable characteristics is the vibrant, historical color it supplies. As a journalist, John Marks covered the reunification of Germany, the transition of Communist East Germany to capitalism, and the transformation of Eastern Europe into a region of struggling democracies. He saw the mixed feelings of elation and fear on the faces of the populace when the Iron Curtain fell, he saw the demonstrations, some peaceful and some horribly violent. In addition to being a beautifully constructed novel, The Wall adds substance to the headlines. Along with stunning prose and wonderfully developed characters, Marks captures the sights, smells, and emotions of the time, and weaves them together to create an authentic, unique and breathtaking thriller.

--Andrew LeCount

Norchi

The many choices rendered tragic because of the failure or the success of a grand design. . .remain a little-explored corner of cold war history. The Wallentertains while effectively exploring such choices. . . -- The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

After half a century of Cold War thrillers, Marks achieves the ultimate ironic turn in his story of an American spy who defects to the East--just three hours before East Germans begin spontaneously crossing into West Berlin, bringing down the wall and the time-honored plot device at once. Marks explains Stuart Glemnik's act, its reasons and rippling effects by taking us on an elaborate tour of Central Europe in late 1989: Berlin, Rocken (Nietzsche's burial place), Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest. At the same time, Marks shifts among a half dozen linked characters: there's Stuart's best friend and fellow spy, half-German, half-African American Nester Cates, who tries to retrieve him; Stuart's German girlfriend Uta Silk, who defects with him but then turns back to the West; and Stuart's brother Douglas, a Dallas pest exterminator who comes to Berlin after losing his job and wife, and whose resemblance to the elusive terrorist Jeri Klek is the (somewhat iffy) wildcard in the tale. A former Berlin bureau chief for U.S. News & World Report, Marks handles his involved story line with assurance, avoiding the fictional travelogue mode endemic to journalists' narrative efforts and investing his story with a distinctive vision of history, borne out through plot, scene and dialogue. Though the plot sometimes creaks from a contrivance overload, Marks' success in conveying the deeper truths beneath the headlines results in an intelligent, memorable and thoroughly engaging debut.

Library Journal

An American spy defects to the East hours before the Wall tumbles. Expect authentic detail from Marks, former Berlin bureau chief of U.S. News & World Report.

Library Journal

An American spy defects to the East hours before the Wall tumbles. Expect authentic detail from Marks, former Berlin bureau chief of U.S. News & World Report.

Kirkus Reviews

A debut thriller by U.S. News journalist (and former Berlin bureau chief) Marks, who takes us on a wild-goose chase through Eastern Europe during Communism's last days. Most East Germans may have figured out by 1989 that Honecker's jig was up, but Western observers, led by the intelligence agencies, remained blissfully unprepared for the storm that broke out that particular November. Army Intelligence officer Nester Cates, stationed in West Berlin, was more surprised than most:. Taken aback when the Hungarians open their borders to the West, he is positively stupefied when the East Germans follow suit. It is hard for Cates to share in the general elation, you see, since his friend and fellow officer Stuart Glemmik has gone AWOL just hours before a freak accident (smelling of sabotage) kills a civilian technician at Cates's post. Glemmik, by virtue of his disappearance, becomes the prime suspect, and Cates is given 24 hours to find him, or face the charges himself. How do you scare up an American who disappears into East Berlin on the precise day that all of East Berlin has gone West? Through your contacts, of course, and if you're looking for Stuart Glemmik, then try his German girlfriend Uta Silk and his brother Douglas conveniently in town on Stuart's invitation. Since they are as mystified as Cates by Stuart's disappearance, the three team up to launch the most hopeless manhunt since Stanley went after Livingstone. Like all good thrillers, this one doesn't stay in one place very long, and the investigation also gets played out against the elections in Prague and the assassinations in Bucharest. At the end, of course, Cates finds what everyone else discovered at the closeof 1989: a new world. Unremarkable as a story, but with good touches of local color. Cold War buffs and glasnost groupies will go for it; others may feel left out in the cold.